


An Analysis on Holding the Spark

by imapirahana98



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2019-02-05 01:50:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12784353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imapirahana98/pseuds/imapirahana98
Summary: This is a an analysis on the story "Holding the Spark" by Caneeljoy. I told them that I was going to write an in depth analysis when they finished their story and that was a few months ago. So this is me sidling up to the party a few months late finally sitting my butt down and writing about what I think was a great story.I will be truly surprised if anyone actually read this.





	An Analysis on Holding the Spark

**Author's Note:**

  * For [caneeljoy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/caneeljoy/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Holding the Spark](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8771815) by [caneeljoy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/caneeljoy/pseuds/caneeljoy). 



Alana (imapirahana98)

Instructor: Me :O

Class: Late as Heck

21 November 2017

                                                                                      An Analysis on Holding the Spark

Fanfiction writer, Caneeljoy in their fictional story “Holding the Spark” uses an evolving plotline, character development, fluff, and angst to create a compelling story following the lives of spark users Yuuri Katsuki and Viktor Nikiforov. The story begins with typical earthen student Yuuri Katsuki in a boring class lecture, when suddenly he has his first magical outburst. As we soon learn, the world in which this story takes place holds extreme prejudice towards those who use the Spark. As Yuuri is shunned from his normal life, and begins attending a new school meant for Spark users, we see that the Spark users are not as bad as the rest of society believes. Yet, they have many secrets that may ultimately lead to their downfall as a society.

Caneeljoy begins by introducing the world that the story is set in and the main characters. At first, the story appears to be a very interesting idea, but will most likely follow the overpowered underdog trope. Those stories are amazing to read, but the never ending plot twists throughout "Holding the Spark" leaves readers on the edges of their seats. The best analogy for this story, is a slow starting rollercoaster. The beginning is a small tour through the bases of what the story or rollercoaster is based on. The middle consists of an increasing tension, with added story building to allow readers to become more invested in the story. As the peak of the roller coaster is reached, the climax occurs and it is straight down hill from there. Sudden twists and turns shock the rollercoaster riders, but lead to an overall excitement about the unexpectedness of the ride. And everything leads into a beautiful ending, with the plot being resolved to the sound of swelling theme park music and the main characters running off into the sunset together. The passengers disembark to take on other stories and rides, and some may return to this particular thrilling story later, but all were left with a feeling of excitement. 

One of the best examples of an unexpected turn came when Viktor Nikiforov, Yuuri’s love interest and Spark compatible partner, was revealed to have self destructive powers of clairvoyance. In the beginning, Viktor’s character was presented as a happy, smart, and easily excitable character. This made him incredibly endearing and added to his likability as Yuuri’s love interest and magic partner. However, as the story continues, there are times where it seems his character is lacking a bit of depth. Caneeljoy, surprises the audience though by bringing in many more layers to his character that explain why he seems to lack a little depth. He presents himself in a certain way to ensure that his powers, both of his Spark ability and his clairvoyant powers, remain in his control and out of the conscious minds of the public. As revealed in chapter 27, when Viktor’s powers begin to go haywire, they can easily go out of control:

              “Mrs. Adamus was squeezing her hands, twisting and untwisting her fingers. “I hate to bother you on a holiday,” she said in a     

               tiny voice, “but I’ve been sensing strong fluctuations from someone in your house.”

               Hiroko looked confused.

               “Fluctuations?” Yuuri asked. “Like, Magical fluctuations?”

                “Yes.” The woman glanced past them, as if searching for something.

                “Daria wanted to ask you if you need assistance,” the man said, “because these levels aren’t healthy, or safe” (Chapter 27, a 

                 little more than half way through)

This passage helps to highlight that despite Viktor at first showing that he is powerful and has great control of his Spark ability, sometimes this is not the case. This point is further built upon as the story progresses towards the climax. Viktor is portrayed as having frequenter dreams that reveal a vague and confusing potential future. The constant emotional dilemma, takes a serious toll on Viktor’s decision making skills and ability to properly function in the way that he was first introduced. He now struggles to bring up a false barricade of cheeriness and if it wasn’t for Yuuri, his friends, or instructors, he most likely would have gone into a serious episode of depression. 

Caneeljoy’s ability to add depth to a character and the plot simultaneously, helps to create an ever evolving plot line that keeps the readers engaged and the story interesting.

Besides using an ever evolving plotline to keep their readers engaged, Caneeljoy also uses fluff to create a needed break from the angst throughout the story. As defined by Urban Dictionary, fluff in fanfiction is “A kind of fanfic which has a happy ending or generally happy content”. Angst in fanfiction “describes a situation or literary piece which contains dark, depressing, angry, and/or brooding emotions from the participating characters.” While at first these seemingly opposing themes would not make sense to have in the same story, often times, the best stories are marked by the ability of the author to balance the angst and the fluff. Caneeljoy, weaves the two together to create an engaging story that makes the readers want to laugh and cry simultaneously. 

On chapter 28, reader Yuurioniceismylife(flo122099) commented: “I'm crying the ending was so cute! Poor poor Viktor...I just want to hug him and shower him with love (good thing he has Yuuri and his family)!” These seemingly contradictory emotions shows the emotions evoked in the readers based off of the story itself. In chapter 27 ladyoftheflowers, a frequent commenter on Caneeljoy’s story, wrote “Everything was so cute and they skated together awwwww but  _ “But you’re good, too,” Viktor added. “Thanks for thinking of us, M- Hiroko. Toshiya.” _ WAS HE GONNA CALL HER MOM OMG I'm gonna go cry seriously aaaaah”. Again the clashing mix of emotions of ladyoftheflowers helps to emphasize that the combination of fluff and angst did it’s purpose. It engaged the reader’s emotions, and allowed for an accumulation of darker undertones to a largely cheery and fluffy story. As Ruby_shooting_stars eloquently explained, “FUCKING SHIT I AM GOING TO CRY WITH HIM IF YOU DONT IM GONNA KDJFJWUDIFJEIWH FISOQOSODJ” the strong reactions were meant to occur from the writer. In response to Ruby_shooting_stars, Caneeljoy stated, “It gets angsty and I'll have to include a TW, so I hope you don't cry too much ;_;” A precursing warning to the reader that the angst up until that point had simply been a slight build up to the overall angst in the climax. This helps to support that the author’s goal was to create a mix of angst and fluff throughout the story.

Overall, Caneeljoy creates a compelling story that combines unique plot twists, character development, fluff, and angst to keep their readers engaged in the story “Holding the Spark”. 


End file.
